Fargo's government style is rare, and some are calling for change

FARGO — As Fargo officials prepare to form a task force in the coming weeks that will explore possible changes to the city's form of government , one thing is certain.

Fargo's City Commission system of government is rare — really rare.

According to M-State political science faculty member Mark Johnson and City Commissioner Arlette Preston, Fargo is one of only two medium-sized or larger-sized cities with that form of government in the United States. The other is Portland, Ore., where Johnson said a charter review board is "widely expected" to shift the city to a council form of government.

Fargo, with a population of nearly 126,000 according to the most recent census, has five city commissioners, including the mayor, who are elected at large.

Most cities have city councils with members elected by wards or a mixture of wards and at-large members, he said.

Of the governing bodies in the 20 cities Johnson examined from Michigan to Montana, all have at least seven members, with the lone exceptions being Fargo and Bismarck. Bismarck, he said, isn't 100,000 people but he added it in for comparison purposes.

Fargo, he added, has the fourth largest commissioner to resident ratio, Johnson said, at one commissioner for every 25,200 residents. The average is about one to 18,000.

Most of the cities in the region have city councils with seven to even 21 members who are elected in wards or districts or have a mixture of at-large and ward council members.

Johnson estimates that about 170, or only 1% of more than 4,000 municipalities in the nation, have a commission form of government. Almost all are smaller cities with populations under 25,000, where there is less staff to carry out administrative duties.

Fargo has a modified form of a City Commission, according to Commissioner Tony Gehrig. The classic form would have each council member more directly involved in overseeing a particular city department such as police or fire.

Fargo's commissioners aren't as involved because they have layers of management to monitor operations, including a city administrator and an assistant administrator.

At least two city commissioners — Preston and Gehrig — favor switching to a city council system.

In a discussion on the issue at a commission meeting Monday, July 12, Mayor Tim Mahoney said he was willing to look at options. Meanwhile, Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said Fargo seemed to be doing just fine and that he couldn't see any benefits to the change.

Commissioner John Strand expressed a "wait-and-see" attitude about any proposals and said he wasn't ready to make any decisions.

In an interview after the meeting, Gehrig said that his ideal system would be four members elected from wards and two others and the mayor elected at large.

If Fargo creates wards, the city might have to switch from a commission form of government to a council system as North Dakota law states that commissioners must be elected at large, Johnson said.

Preston said she "strongly supports" dividing the city into wards as it would help residents know who to reach out to with their concerns directly.

"Different neighborhoods have different needs," she said.

Commissioners on Monday night approved a task force to explore placing the question of transitioning to a ward system on the 2022 ballot and whether the commission should keep or discontinue term limits.

Both Gehrig and Preston said they believe a council form of government wouldn't operate much differently than the commission does currently.

Preston and Gehrig favor moving to a seven-member city council, although a motion to have the city attorney and the task force look into that issue failed on a 2-3 vote.

Piepkorn didn't think the addition of "more politicians" would make the city run any better. The task force could still consider the issue, though.

"I've lived here 18 years and nobody does anything about it," said Johnson about switching up the form of government, adding that his viewpoints are his own and not of M-State.

Gehrig agrees and said if the City Commission doesn't put any of the issues on the ballot, he believes citizens will petition the city for a vote on the issue next June.

City Auditor Steve Sprague said the city's home rule charter, which he calls the "constitution" for the city, allows citizens to petition to place issues on the ballot. Any proposed change must have specific language to be placed on the ballot, which Sprague would approve.

The petition must be signed by 15% of the 9,406 people who voted in the last city mayoral election, which would mean 1,411 signatures would have to be gathered and verified.

Sprague said "a couple of people" have talked to him about starting a petition drive.

The City Commission can also place a measure on the ballot, but Gehrig and Preston do not expect that to happen.

Preston said some would be "voting against their own personal interests" by expanding the commission or creating wards.